GLENNFebruary 24, 2017

Aaron Watson: One of the Greatest American Entrepreneurs Alive Today

Country music sensation Aaron Watson made it the old fashioned way: through hard work, grit and determination. The only recording artist to make it without a record label, Watson credits his parents for teaching him about hard work and never giving up. He treasures one story, in particular, about the heartbreaking day a record producer told him he didn't have the right stuff.

"After he said we didn't have what it takes, I went back home, and I was pretty heart broke," Watson said. "And I told my dad, 'They don't like my songs.' And he said, 'That's alright. They said the same thing to Willie.' And then dad said, 'When Willie turned 45 years old, he made it.'"

At the time, Watson was 21 years old.

"I'm thinking, 'Whoa, dad, so are you saying that it's going to take me 24 years to make it?' He said 'Yeah, if you want it bad enough.'" Watson recalled.

Eighteen years, 13 albums and 2,500 shows later, Watson is at the top of his game.

"I just applied all the principles that my mom and dad taught me growing up of being all heart, all hustle, giving God all the glory, and I used all of those things they taught me. My business model is very simple: Faith, Family and Fans," Watson said.

Enjoy the complimentary clip above or read the transcript below for details.

GLENN: Hello, America. It is Friday. And I know there's a ton going on today. And we're going to get to it but this hour, I want to introduce you to a guy that I believe is one of the greatest American entrepreneurs alive today. How you can apply what he has learned to your life and rock the world. Aaron Watson joins us right now.

Aaron Watson is here. Aaron, in case you don't know. In case you're not a country music fan, Aaron Watson put out an album called the under dog a couple of years ago and was a guy who walked in to -- can I say what company?

AARON: We walked into all the companies.

GLENN: All the companies. And he is a Texas-born guy, and he just knows who he is and walked into all of the record companies and all of them said "You ain't got it, kid."

He decided to go and do it on his own, and you are the very first artist of any format, if I'm not mistaken, that has been independent. No record label, nobody, and you've made it to number one.

AARON: It's incredible. I mean, such a blessing. I mean, it was two years ago pretty much this week, and it's still hard for me to believe. We have an exhibit at the country music Hall of Fame.

GLENN: That he was amazing.

AARON: It's exciting because I get this a lot. I'm up and coming. 18 years, 13 albums, and 2,500 shows later, I'm still up and coming. They introduced me as up and coming as this big radio get together in Nashville, and he said, yes, I'm up and coming 18 years, 13 albums, 2,500 shows later, and I'm flattered that you still find me young and fresh, you know?

So we have fun with it. But it's just -- we've been so blessed. It's incredible.

GLENN: I will tell you. I can't wait -- because Pat doesn't really know anything about you and I am so excited to have the audience get to know you because you're one of the most genuine people that I know.

AARON: Thank you.

GLENN: And one of the really truly good guys. You're -- the way you run your business alone speaks volumes. You have three principles.

AARON: Faith, family, and fans.

GLENN: Explain.

AARON: Well, that's my brand. I mean, that's my manifesto. And in everything I do, I ask myself am I staying truth to my faith, my family, and my fans?

I mean, just like you said, we've been turned down, rejected by every record label there is. And at some point, I just was, like, I'm going to do this. They can't tell me that I can't do this. Like, I believe in myself. I'm willing to put in the hard work and, you know, the greatest thing now is that now that we've divide the system, it gives me this wonderful platform to tell all these people, these other people that are shooting for their dreams, like, listen, I don't care what career path you want. If you want it, you go get it. Don't you dare let somebody discourage you from your dreams. No one has the right to discourage you from your dreams.

GLENN: Would you guys just play a little of -- is it outcast? No, underdog.

AARON: Underdog. Yeah, we can play. So much part are you talking about?

GLENN: Isn't that the one with the --

AARON: Oh, you're talking about my fence post. You're talking about my --

GLENN: You're not changing anything.

AARON: Oh, you're talking about this one. Oh, absolutely. So I was driving back from Austin.

LENN: Okay.

AARON: And I was just -- it's in the middle of us recording the underdog. And we were almost finished with it, and I got to thinking about my career path and how things were starting to take off, and I was, like, man, we've got -- I've got to share my story more on the underdog. So I went in, and I wrote this song. And my producer didn't even know I was putting it on the record. I mean, I'm paying him out of pocket, so it doesn't matter at the end of the day. We did two takes of it on a little SM58 mic just like this. And I told the kid that was engineering it just pick the best take of the two. I'm only going to sing it twice. I want this to feel like I'm singing this song on my back porch.

And we haven't sang this song in forever so, you know, nothing quite like not rehearsing a song in front of Mr. Glenn Beck.

STU: Now you know how our day is every day. Every day we deal with this.

AARON: And I wrote this song for that record executive that sent me back home. And what's interesting is that when I went -- after he said we didn't have what it takes, I went back home, and I was pretty heart broke. And I told my dad they don't like my songs. And he said that's all right. They said the same thing to Willie. And then dad said "When Willie turned 45 years old, he made it."

And at the time I was, like, 21. And I'm thinking whoa, dad. So are you saying that it's going to take me 24 years to make it?

He said "Yeah, if you want it bad enough."

And that changed the way I was thinking. I realized then I was going to have to be a go-getter. I was not going to be able to run that dream down sitting on my can. I was going to have to go after it, go get it. And really, I just applied all the principles that my mom and dad taught me growing up of being all heart, all hustle, giving God all the glory, and I used all of those things they taught me. My business model is very simple. People are, like, what's your musical background? And I'm, like, I grew up listening to Willie and Waley on my dad's vinyl records and my mom would thump me on the head not singing in church. Those are my musical influences, but that's everything I am today.

Everything my mom and dad surrounded me with are loving, supportive, it was all heart and all soul. And I have a story. Remind me to tell you this story about what changed me. It happened at 10 years old and what made me who I am today. But I'll sing this. I wrote this for that ol' boy at the record label.

He said some don't get offended by about what I'm about to say. I can see you have a passion for the songs you write and play. You like what we all call commercial milk. We just don't have what it takes to make it here in Nashville. Ouch.

Well, my heartfelt like a train wreck, but I wore a smile on my face. I said thank you for your time, sir, and I'll put this old guitar back in its case. Well, our little conversation was like a revelation redirecting my dreams because God knows I would never sell my soul to rock 'n' roll or rap or wear those tight fitting skinny genes.

Yeah, you know I pray the prayer of my own song up on a string. I wear what I want to wear. I'm going to sing what I want to sing. Heaven knows all I need is my faith, my fans, my friends, and my family. Besides, I rather be an old fence post in Texas than the king of Tennessee.

[Applause]

GLENN: And explains everything. And now what excites me about you so much is that you are progressive that the old model isn't even necessary.

AARON: Absolutely. I mean, absolutely. It's not necessary, and it's one of those things I'm honored to be, like, the poster boy for hard work. Persistence. The grind. I mean --

GLENN: Nobody's willing. It seems as though nobody's willing to do that anymore. They want the instant YouTube hit and just be a star tomorrow.

AARON: You know, so I was telling you about my dad. So a defining moment in my childhood, my dad's 100 percent disabled from serving the country in the Vietnam war. My dad's my hero. My dad has made so many sacrifices not just for this country but for my family. And I am who I am today because of my dad. And my dad was a custodian. And one summer, all of my friends were swimming at the swimming pool across the street from the church that dad was cleaning, and I wanted to go over there, and I wanted to be with my buddies, and I wanted to swim. I mean, I'm 10, 11 years old, I just want to be with my buddies naturally. And my dad was, like, well, I would really like you to help me out. And of course I'm 10, so I'm complaining about it. And we were cleaning the men's bathroom, and my dad was in one stall, and I'm in the next, and I can remember those big, yellow gloves, and we're cleaning away. And I'm just griping. I'm just complaining about having to clean toilets and not getting to swim with my buddies.

And my dad looks around the stall, and he's on his knees, and he's got on yellow gloves too. And he said "Hey, do you think that I like cleaning toilets?"

And I said "No, sir."

He said "But God's blessed me with a job. Because of this job, I'm able to take care of my family. So I show up here every day, and I make these the cleanest toilets in Amarillo, Texas."

And that hit me because my dad's my hero, and he's a custodian, and it kind of goes back to that Martin Luther King Jr. street sweeper comment where he says to the street sweeper "Clean those streets. Make them so clean that if Jesus walks down those streets, he says"Man, these are some clean straights.

And that instilled in me work ethical for me to be the best that I can be. And I'm not half the man my dad is. So, for me, I'm pushing myself to be the best that I can be because I just had that role model in my life. And my mom's amazing too. I'm a total mama's boy. If I don't bring up my mom in this, I can't go back home to Buffalo Gap, Texas.

But that instilled in me work ethic. If you want it, go get it. And I'm so proud not just of -- I'm not really -- well, really, I'm not really that proud of my accomplishments. I mean, I'm proud for my guys who work with me. I'm proud for my fans who have stuck with me. I mean, I got asked by rolling stone magazine how in the world does some west Texas boy with no record label outsell mainstream major label artists? And I said "It's simple. God has blessed me with the best fans in the whole wide world."

And I mean that. They take care of me.

GLENN: Between god and all the fans in this program, that's how everything that has been built has been built.

AARON: Absolutely.

GLENN: When you are loyal to your fans, and you're loyal to yourself, your fans see that. And then you're loyal to them, they're loyal to you, it is the greatest. I know people who despise their fans.

AARON: I'll never understand that.

GLENN: I don't understand that.

AARON: I'll never understand that. After every show -- you know, it's midnight. It's 1:00 a.m. I'm tired. I mean, I'm an old married man at this point with kids, you know? It's, like, I would like to go to bed. I would like to get in that bunk on the bus. But I have people lined up at my merchandise booth at every show. So I say, hey, after the show, I'll meet you at the merchandise booth. Hugs and selfies are free tonight.

And I spend time with the fans, and I let them know how much I love them. And when I'm too tired to get out there, I think about my daddy with those yellow gloves on cleaning toilets.

GLENN: His name is Aaron Watson. The name of the CD is Vaquero. He's going to play some stuff with us and talk about how to disrupt whatever industry you're in. He's proof positive, and I also want to tell you I have an ulterior motivate to have him on. And it's for his benefit. I really believe that this man and his group are a source of inspiration for anybody who is -- about to give up on their dream, about to give up and say, man, nobody's getting it. Don't. Look to Aaron Watson.

RADIO

How GEORGE SOROS is Connected to the Pro-Palestine College Campus Protests

Surprise, surprise! Politico is shocked to find out that the pro-Palestinian protests taking over college campuses are financially backed by George Soros and the Tides Foundation! Glenn, however, isn't as surprised. But he and Stu also review something they haven't heard before: An anti-Israel protester praising North Korea for training Palestinian fighters. And then, there was the protester who wanted to liberate not just Palestine, but the Congo ... and Hawaii and Puerto Rico. So, that leads Glenn and Stu to debate whether there are any other states besides Hawaii that we should get rid of. He has a few in mind ...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Well, let's say hello to my friendly chap, Stu. Hello, Stu.

STU: Hi, Glenn. How are you?

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. I'm great.

STU: Are you? Things are looking up?

GLENN: Wow. So great.

STU: Great. That's so great to hear. I was worried that things in the world were a bit of a downer. Not at all?

GLENN: No. Not at all. I have something really good. You're going to love this.

This is from politico. Pro Palestinian protesters are backed by a surprising source.

You're going to be so surprised.

STU: Chuck E. Cheese. I would be surprised if Chuck E. Cheese were behind them.

GLENN: No. Not Chuck E. Cheese. No.

STU: Wait.

GLENN: George Soros and the Tides Foundation.

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

STU: No!

I am surprised by that. Not quite as surprised as Chuck E. Cheese.

You know, every morning, I get up because I can't take NPR and the New York Times daily anymore.

So I listen to daily wire. And the update for daily wire.

And one of their reporters said, and people who give to -- like the Tides Foundation should make sure to tell them, that they don't want their money going -- no. That's the whole point of the Tides Foundation.

STU: To launder money.

GLENN: You're not giving money to -- I hope it goes to Mother Teresa. It's not going there.

STU: I mean, you can give money to whoever you want.

So there's no real reason to have to wish and hope and pray it goes to a specific place. You can just give the money to that place. If you want to hide where you're giving the money to --

GLENN: Well, what do you mean by that, Stu?

STU: Well, that's the setup of the Tides Foundation, and they're not alone, of course. There are organizations that do similar things, where you give to this general organization.

GLENN: You mean, like Act Red?

STU: Is there a Win Red? There's some other roughly equivalent organization with the color.

GLENN: Well, good. Quite honestly, good.

STU: They don't do the same stuff, of course.

GLENN: They're not fomenting revolution on the streets?

STU: Well, I don't know. Not here at least.

It's one of those things. Where you can give to a centralized place, maybe not have your name on a destination list. It's a very convenient thing. If you're supporting things that you maybe don't want to publicly announce that you're supporting.

GLENN: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

So some of the people. Susan and Nick Princer. You know who Nick is, right?

Hey, Nick. No? He's the heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire. So makes me want to go stay at a Hyatt right away.

Let's see. Also, George Soros. I like this one. The Jewish voice for peace.

Which is, they describe themselves as anti-Zionists. I'm trying to figure this out now.

I mean, just -- somebody help me. Just do the math. Do the math.

You're a enjoy. And the history of the Jews, is to be chased out of wherever it is you live.

And you can never really defend yourself, because you don't have a country. Okay?

There's no place to go, and every place that turns on you, takes away your guns and puts you in a camp and tries to kill you.

Okay?

Now, for the first time since, oh, I don't know. 2000 years. You get a country.

And the world gives that country to you. Because its main -- its main objective is, you are free to defend yourself. And nobody is telling you, you know, go back to where you came from.

Okay? Now, you're a Jew. And you're against that.

Help me out on the math, because I can't seem to complete the numbers.

STU: It's a difficult one. You can be critical of an Israeli leadership, right? And still want the Jews to be alive.

GLENN: Right. Right.

STU: So you can be that. But being anti-Zionist, it's hard to know, exactly how that works out for the Jews. Not well in the past. We know that.

GLENN: So Rockefeller is giving significant grants to Jewish voice for peace.

Which blamed the October 7th attacks on Israel, and the United States.

So I don't know if you know that. We're so bad. We're so bad. We're so bad, we're even stealing the bad things that other people do. And claiming that they're ours.

That's how bad we are.

All right. So we have that. Now, the students at NYU. Let me see if we have this particular cut. I do believe we do.

Yes. Cut 45, please. Students at NYU.

Here's what they're chanting.

STU: I can't wait for a new chant. I hope it's something new. I hope it's something we have.

GLENN: I don't think so.

STU: Oh, really? That's always exciting.

VOICE: Which idea do you think North Korea support, Palestine or Israel? Just guess.

VOICE: Palestine.

VOICE: It is Palestine.

It actually never recognized the state of Israel. They have always upheld the right of Palestinian people to self-determination and resistance.

And this is beyond moral and rhetorical support. They've actively armed and trained --

GLENN: Yeah. North Korea. North Korea.

VOICE: -- have trained troops by the DPRK.

GLENN: Wow.

STU: This is the second one of these I've seen. People just sitting there. And she's reading this, by the way. Not as much chant unfortunately.

GLENN: This is crazy!

Yeah, I know.

STU: But you have to come up with something a little more catchy than that. But she is -- that has to be a North Korean operative. Right?

GLENN: Or -- or a Columbia University student, that otherwise known as a complete and total dolt.

STU: Yes. I would agree with that. That's the second one I would see in these protests.

Not talking about the Palestinians. Particularly praising North Korea for the reference. Oppressive regimes in the world.

GLENN: It's time for non-drag queen story hour, okay?

Where the non-drag queen comes out and says, listen, kids. North Korea, they starve their own people.

Really bad. Concentration camps. You know, that kind of thing.

Throwing babies up in the air. Seeing, who can catch it with a sword. North Korea.

Well, I learned a lot from that non-drag queen story hour. How about you, Stu?

Sounds like North Korea. Bad place. How -- how -- how is this person with a straight face really saying, North Korea?

And you know whose side they are on? Yeah. Our side. North Korea is on our side. They're even training people. I mean, they're with us.

Who could stand against us?

Oh, I don't know. All the forces of good.
(laughter)
Amazing.

STU: Imagine advocating for -- I mean, that person is not even advocating for the Palestinian cause.

It's more of trying to win people who already support the Palestinian cause, over to the North Korean cause, which is fascinating. But imagine wanting to be on that side of any debate. This isn't even like the high-minded like olden days of Cuba or something.

GLENN: No. This is --

STU: This is north freaking Korea.

GLENN: We know what they do.

STU: This is one of the most oppressive regimes -- probably the most repressive regime on earth.

But I think China is -- China is at least, has people in their country.

GLENN: Who are not starving.

STU: Or who are wealthy. Right?

They do international business. North Korea does none of this. Everything in their country is controlled by this one family. And this is the mace that won't even give like basic surgeries out to their people. That doctors have to come across the border, to give them basic things like cataract surgeries. They all think they're blind for life. When these basic surgeries would cure them.

North Korea is the worst of the worst.

Now that's the argument they're making?

I like being on the opposite side of that.

GLENN: You know, it's kind of -- people who say, you're on the wrong side of history. What do they know?

Well, in this case, I think we could say, pretty certain. North Korea is never going to be looked at like, you know, those guys were really great. Back in the day, those guys were really great.

STU: Yeah. It would be surprising how this turns out.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. Here's another one I think you will really enjoy. Why are you out protesting today?

VOICE: Because I want to see an empire fall!

VOICE: What empire?

VOICE: From the US to Israel, the empire that's propped up by capitalism.

STU: Oh, shocking.

VOICE: Free Palestine. Free Congo. Free Sudan. Free Haiti. Free Hawaii --

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Free Hawaii. Free Puerto Rico.

STU: Yeah, I'm worried about the freedom of Hawaii right now. It's a huge issue. And Puerto Rico.

GLENN: I know. You know, honestly, if Hawaii knows want Hawaii back. I'm cool with that.

STU: It's pretty awesome. I kind of like it. It rounds out our country a little bit. It's like when you have a delicious meal and there's just a little bit of garnish on top. Kind of rounds it out. I feel like that's Hawaii for us.

GLENN: Are you saying -- this is kind of like a DEI thing, we have to keep it in, to keep our diversity?

STU: No, I think it improves the recipe a little bit of our country. You know, you get this great island. You get to go on vacations there.

GLENN: Right. Right.

But we did kind of just, hey. Nice island you have here. It's ours. And I have no problem giving it back.

I really don't.

STU: You just --

GLENN: No. I have no problem.

STU: What about the military bases we have there. They'll rent them to us? Well, that's a unique proposal. You want to go to the 49 states. What about Alaska?

GLENN: No. Alaska stays.

STU: You want Alaska over Hawaii, why?

GLENN: Absolutely. Because some day we can drill for all the oil and rare earth minerals.

STU: You're saying that Hawaii just gives us tourism, not enough to fight for it.

GLENN: I mean, yeah. Colonialism, not willing to fight for it. You know, Hawaii, not willing to fight for it. Really not. Really not.

STU: Hmm. But you won Alaska. It's a lot of land. It's a lot of land.

GLENN: Yeah. It's a lot of land. We won't give that one up. That's kind of like Texas to me. Texas. Alaska. Nope!

STU: Really?

We need to turn something else into a state. You can't go 49. You have to go to a round number.

GLENN: How about we go to 48. Why are you going up. Let's go down.

STU: Well, I want a round number.

I have to knock out four or five. At least 4 to get me to 45. Or 40.

I mean, we can do that. We can knock out --

GLENN: Why not 48?

STU: Because it's not a round number. Am I not saying these words out loud? I keep hearing them in my head. Am I saying a round number out loud? I want a round number of states. Okay? That's what I want.

GLENN: That's a stupid rule.

That's a stupid, stupid rule.

I can cut ten. I can cut ten easy.

STU: You can cut ten easy.

GLENN: New York. New York.

STU: Okay. This is going to help. Every time we list states that we don't want in the union. This works out well.

GLENN: New York. Massachusetts. Oregon. Washington. California.

New Mexico, really doesn't do anything for us.

It's just kind of there.

STU: Really, breaking bad. That was a great series.

GLENN: Yeah. But it wasn't really filmed there.

STU: I thought it was. I think it was, but you can film stuff there.

GLENN: Then I balance it out with radiation. You know, the whole dump.

You know, with every place. Every community needs a dump.

And so maybe we keep New Mexico.

Just based on, we need a dump. Okay?

STU: That's quite an analysis of the beautiful terrain.

GLENN: Well, it is beautiful. It's the nicest looking dump I've ever seen.

STU: Okay. All right. Uh-huh.

GLENN: I'm not saying we dump our garbage there.

I'm saying we dump our nuclear waste there. Not the -- the same as garbage.

That's expensive waste. That's like waste from rich people.

STU: So you can get me to 40. You don't want to go to 50. No interest to 50.

Wasn't there a split to Idaho. Part of Idaho wanting to pull out. Or Oregon wanting to pull out.

GLENN: Yeah. Oregon.

No. That was just going to become part of Idaho. Half of Oregon was like, you people are crazy.

And they were like, I would rather be the potato people.

STU: What about east Oregon, get you a new state. Get you to 50.

You get two more senators from a conservative state there, doing it that way.

GLENN: No. Because then they'll demand Puerto Rico. No, we freed Puerto Rico. Right? Of course we have.

And --

STU: I didn't know that.

GLENN: And I think we've also evacuated the dump called Washington, DC. That's where we keep our dump. That's where we're like. Hey, all our garbage goes to the District of Columbia. And our prisoners.

STU: That would be interesting. And the prisoners. This is a good idea.

Because too big.

First of all, Washington it can't. Very liberal.

Two proposals, they're very interested in.

Number one is freeing customers, right?

They always want prisoners free. They always say the prisoner industrial complex.

So free them. But they all go to DC.

Right. You're allowed to walk around in DC.

Except for the hardened prisoners. We just lock the front doors, and the front doors and the back doors and the side doors. The hard criminals have to stay there.

STU: Yeah. Yeah.

GLENN: Okay. But everybody else has to walk around.

STU: And then the trash, you know, they're always worried about the environment.

I mean, what better motivator to help clean up all the trash problem. Then all the trash goes directly to Washington, DC.

GLENN: Amen, brother.

RADIO

Are You BETTER or WORSE Off Than You Were 5 Years Ago?

5 years ago in 2019, Donald Trump was president, the economy was booming, and the threat of World War 3 was much lower. Jump ahead to 2024 and inflation is rising at an insane pace, two wars are shaking the world, China is on the rise, our children's schools are no longer safe, and President Biden is still trying to convince you that you're better off. So, Glenn asks, are you? Is ANYTHING better off than it was 5 years ago? Maybe it's time to make a change ...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Are you better off than you were, five years ago?

Is our country better than it was five years ago? Are we -- we more stable than we were, five years ago, ten years ago, 12 years ago?

Is the world closer to world peace, or closer to world war? Than it was five years ago.

Are we closer to a nuclear war, today, than we were five years ago?

You have to remember, this nuclear war thing, it was just a couple of years ago, they started kicking this around. And we all went, wait. I thought this was over.

Don't get used to that. That is not normal anymore.

Are we more respected in the world today, than we were five years ago?

Do bad guy countries fear us more or less than five years ago? Is our military more or less prepared for any major war, than it was five years ago?
By the way, couple that with your answer, is the world closer to world peace or world war? Does that concern you? Are our streets safer, than they were five years ago?

Are police, are they more respected?

Remember, five years ago was the throes of BLM.

It was four or five years ago, that everybody was on the street. And they were marching to reimagine the police. And to put counselors on the street, instead of police officers.

Are we -- are our cities struggling to hire more counselors, or more police officers, than they were five years ago?

Are police officers more likely or less likely to jump in and help? When there's a problem.

Your 911 service, is it faster than it was five years ago, or is it slower? The response time, than it was five years ago.

Is our relationship between the police officers and blacks, Hispanics, anybody. Is it better, because that's what they were claiming, they needed counselors. And they needed people to train the cops.

So is our police officer. Our police force. Their relationship.

Is it better or worse, or the same?

Than it was five years ago. And even if it's the same, why?

Didn't we go through all of that, to fix that problem?

Is it even close to being fixed.

If someone commits a crime in America, against you, or against anybody that you know, are they more or less likely to go to jail?

Our justice system. Do you have more trust in it, or less trust?

If you don't trust the justice system and you don't trust the police and you don't trust the government, when you have a problem, who do you go to?

Who is actually holding up the torch. I mean, it used to be that you could go to the media. And the media would expose the bad guys. And the government would come in and take care of it. Or if the bad guys were the government, then the people would take care of business.

Do you have more faith in the government, than you did five years ago?

Do you have more faith in the media, than you did five years ago?

You know, we had to bail out the banks in 2008. Why?

Why?

Because they had become too big to fail. Remember? Too big to fail.

We have to stop this.

Did they fix that problem?

Are our big banks bigger or smaller than they were in 2008? Who was hurt by all of the fixes to make banks smaller? So they would never be too big to fail? The banks that were hurt, were they the big banks, or were they the small banks? Do you have trust in the security of your bank? Is that trust getting better or worse, than it was five years ago?

Do you have trust that our Treasury and our Federal Reserve have your best interest at heart. And is that getting better or worse?

Is inflation better or worse than it was five years ago? Is your confidence in the people that are in charge, is your confidence in -- in them, knowing how to fix it.

Being able to even assess what's going on. Is your confidence in them, getting better or worse.

Do you think they are adding to the problem, or fixing the problem?

Do you know our new hopeful target for inflation is now 3 percent?

So that means, we're hoping to hit 3 percent additional inflation every single year.

Not reversing, prices don't go down.

But they only go up from here, 3 percent per year. That's our hope!

Over the last three years, official inflation was around 12 percent. It's probably closer to 20.

But their plan is to increase the inflation that we have right now, by another 15 percent, by the time the next president's term ends.

Is that in the right direction? Or not?

Is your gas price, better or worse than it was five years ago?

How about the price of insurance?

Is that better or worse? Is it easier or harder for you to find a house?

Find a house!

Easier or more difficult than it was five years ago?

Your mortgage rate, is it lower or higher than it was five years ago?

Price of milk.

Our schools, do you feel our children are more safe, or less safe, in their schools, than you did five years ago?

Remember, it was about three years ago, we started finding CRT.

All of this DEI. All of this stuff, has happened under this president.

Do you have more confidence in your school, or less confidence in your school?

Do you have more confidence in your school's librarian, or less confidence?

Are our children better educated, or worse, than five years ago?

Are our children more stable mentally than they were before all this gobbledegook started? Do you believe that we have a handle on terrorism? Is our country more safe from terrorists, or less safe than it was five years ago?

How do you feel about your job?

I can't think of a category, that has gotten better. Can you?

Every category that I look at, it doesn't speak of health, in any way, shape, or form.

Are we happier than we were five years ago?

Are we more comfortable? Are we more content? Not in any category. Not in a single category.

At least that I can find. Is Afghanistan better off? Is Israel better off? Is Ukraine better off?

There is a reckoning that is coming. There is a reckoning that is come.

By the way, I just keep thinking more, how about electricity rates? Do you feel like we will have power, when needed?

Is that confidence better or worse?

Our border, better or worse?

Your freedom, the fundamentals of our Bill of Rights, do you have more confidence or less confidence, that the people in Washington, I don't care what party they're from, are actually going to enforce the Bill of Rights?

This is called a reckoning. When a country goes this far off, there is a reckoning that comes.

It's like you tell your kids, you know, they're getting bad grades in school. You're going to flunk. You're going to flunk. Work harder. Work harder. How can we help you?

Let's go. We have to get to a tutor. Whatever it is. And your kid does not do it. It's like, there's going to come a time where it's too late for you, and you're going to flunk. There's going to come a time where it's too late for you, and you're not going to make it into college.

That's a reckoning. And it's just a natural response to really bad, screwed up ideas. And until you change your ways, the reckoning just gets worse and worse and worse.

When it comes, it's devastating. One of my favorite lines, favorite sayings is, nothing will change if nothing changes. We're shuffling the deck, and we're moving the chairs around the table. We're just moving the chairs around the table.

We're -- we're moving the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. If nothing changes, nothing will change.

And it's getting worse and worse and worse.

RADIO

What Aleksandr Dugin REALLY Believes About America

In light of Tucker Carlson’s recently released interview with Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, Glenn dives deep into Dugin’s true beliefs about America and his terrifying “solutions” to society’s problems. Dugin may sound like an ally to American conservatives, but his comments on war, apocalypse, and fascism reveal his true intents. Rockford University Philosophy Professor Stephen Hicks joins Glenn to lay out the “massive trap” that Dugin has set for the West and the future of “fascism without compromise” that he wants for the world.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Welcome to the program. Yesterday, a -- an interview that Tucker Carlson did while he was in Russia, was released. It was about 20 minutes. And I applaud everyone for having a conversation. Tucker has said many times. It's important to see and understand how our adversaries view us.

Well, that -- that wasn't clear in this. He just diagnosed a problem as Aleksandr Dugin always does.

And enough to open a door to people. Have people say, oh. Well, I think I might agree with that.

It is really important, what Tucker has begun. We have to now continue that conversation. So people on our side, will not fall victim to this guy.

They talk about how people want his books to be banned. I don't. I want you to read this in his own words. There will be stuff at the beginning of the book, you will go, yeah. Yeah. He knows me.

By the time you're at the end of the book. This is a horror show.

Literally a horror show. But you should read him.

Jefferson, when we went into our first foreign war, which was against the Muslim pirates, insisted that everybody read the Koran. If you really want to understand the absurdity of it all, he said, you need to read this in their own words. Now, let's get down to it.

GLENN: So let me play just a little bit of what he said, to Tucker yesterday. We'll start there. Here's a clip from the Tucker Carlson interview with Aleksandr Dugin.

VOICE: There was all liberals.

And, for instance (inaudible), correctly, that there are no more ideologies, except for liberalism. And liberalism, that was liberation, of this individual from any kind of collective identity.

There are only two collective identities, to liberate from. Gender identity, because it's disconnected by identity.

You are man and woman, collectively.

So you could be -- so liberation of gender. And that has led to transgenders. To LGBT. And new form of sexual individuals. So sex is all -- something optional.

And that was not just the deviation of liberalism. That was necessary elements of implementation and victor of this liberal ideology.

And the last step that is not yet totally -- totally, made his liberation from human identity. Humanity optional. And when -- now we are choosing for you, in the West, you are choosing the sex you want, as you want. And the last step in this process of liberalism. Implementation of liberalism. Will mean precisely, the human optional. So you can choose your individual identity to be human. Not to be human.

And that -- transhumanism. Post humanism. Singularity. Artificial intelligence. Klaus Schwab. They openly declare that it is the inevitable future of humanity. So we have arrived to the historical terminal station. That we finally -- five centuries. A goal, we have embarked on this train. And we are now arriving at the last station.

GLENN: So what he's saying here is, that liberalism, meaning the classic liberalism where you're an individual. It's not collective. Et cetera, et cetera. He says, the inevitable end is progressivism. And then some dystopian future. But I don't think that's right.

I would love to hear from you.

Liberalism doesn't lead to progressivism. Marxism leads to progressivism.

STEPHEN: Yeah. The first half of the Dugin clip is correct. The second half is a massive equivocation. I think he should know better. I think he's doing some tactical rhetoric against the West, talking about the transgenderism. So let's take those two in part.

So the first part is all of the Soviet Union. I think Dugin is exactly right. What plays out in the 20th century, left only some sort of liberalism standing in the field.

Twenty-first century was a huge ideological battle. I think Dugin's analysis is correct. It's kind of the analysis I've argued and many other people have argued as well.

The 20th Century was about some sort of liberalism, versus some sort of fascism or national socialism, versus some sort of Marxist communism.

We fought world wars. We fought cold wars. Fought many French warfare, ideological wars as well.
What happened was fascism was defeated.

National socialism was defeated. And by 1991, Marxist communism was defeated. So what seemed to be, almost inevitable. I don't want to use the inevitably language. But was that some sort of liberal democracy, capitalism, individualism. Barbarity, was triumphant.

So I think that part is exactly right. Now where I think Dugin goes wrong, is in what happens next.

My view was what happened, liberalism took a breathing. We've been fighting wars. Ideological. And actual wars for over a century.

We let our guard down. We have relaxed. We have kind of thought everybody is going to get on board.

Some sort of liberal, democratic, capitalist. Modern future is slowly going to prevail over the next generation.

What actually happened though, was that the fascists. The national socialists.

The authoritarians. The communists. The Marxists.

The various sorts, did not simply go away, and give up the fight.

Instead, they started to repackage themselves. Inside, the now triumph unto west, there are countermovements that tried to reassert themselves. We started to say, by the time we got to 2010, 2015. Or so.

That those countermovement inside the West are reasserting themselves. And everybody is starting to become aware of them. And the particularly nasty forms of transgenderism.

Now, I think is a legitimate version of transgenderism. That reasonable, sensitive people will take wear of. Weaponized transgenderism. Of a particularly vibrant form, that we're sometimes dealing with.

That is a different phenomena. So the second part then, is what Dugin wants to do is to say.

And this is the part that you were picking up on. That are -- the relativism. The angry activism. The willingness to let everything burn inside the West. That we're now confronting with.

The virulent forms of Islamism. That we are now confronting. And some of the total package of anti-western. Antiliberalism.

Where did those come from?

Now, I agree. Those are pathological.

They are very destructive. What Dugin is offering. Is a thesis that says. That those antiliberalisms. Are themselves an youth growth of liberalism.

And that I think is simply false.

GLENN: So he -- when he says, you know, an end to modernity. And liberalism.

He's actually -- I mean, one of the first things I've found about Dugin. That opened my eyes.

Was his statement that -- that fascism, with Mussolini. Mussolini was a very brave person. As was Hitler.

But it didn't work. But they understood that international communism was not good. So they went for national communism, or socialism. Which became fascist. And he said, where the two of them went wrong. Was they offered too many compromises.

He said, the future -- yeah. The future is fascism without compromise.

STEPHEN: Exactly.

GLENN: This is terrifying.

STEPHEN: This is 1990's Dugin in the first decade after the fail of the Soviet Union. And he's a strange character at this point. He's already adopted various forms of Naziism. In the 1980s. At this point, he's not a young man. He's in his late '20s. Early '30s.

So he's a mature thinker. He hates liberalism already. He hates modernity. He hates the West in its entirety. At the same time, he's dissatisfied with a lot of what's going on in the Soviet Union.

Its version of Communism and Marxism. When the Soviet Union falls, so he's cofounder of a national Bolshevik Party. And the Bolsheviks, of course, was Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, and so on. So it's a reworking of a kind of Communist Marxism.

But the nationalism is important there for him. And he then -- and, a few years, settles on saying, what we need to do is just rework fascism.

So he's widely and explicitly admiring of Mussolini, and some of the German fascists of the 1920s and early 1930s. And he publishes an article in 1997, called fascism. Borderless and red. The red part means blood. And it means a little bit of incorporation of Marxism.

That will mean bloody, violent revolution that we need, and the border part is also there. That we need to expand Russia's border.

We need to be expansionists.

What we need is a kind of national socialism. And he takes the socialism seriously.

Economic control.

But it's not going to be a socialism, that we take on, so to speak. It's a Russian people, who moved into some abstract, socialist template. We need to take the Russian people. Its particular ethnic identity, including its religion. Its cultures. It's traditions. See it as having a world historical destiny.

It's going to lead the world to a new, bright future that is not going to be kind of trapped in the old Marxist way. And as you were suggesting, it will learn from the failures of the earlier versions of fascism and national socialism.

And what that is going to involve with. A willingness to be muscular. A willingness to be violent. A willingness to take ethnicity and nationalism seriously. And not to compromise one job with capitalism, with any form of Western liberalism.

Yes. That's Dugin. By the time we get to the late 1990s.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Did the Deep State Kill a Journalist? An ‘Octopus Murders’ Review | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 219

A journalist went where the FBI couldn’t and may have dug his own grave asking the wrong questions to a nefarious network, including CIA operatives, the mafia, Hollywood’s elite, Native Americans, and psychopathic killers. This was Danny Casolaro's biggest story that never happened because he was found dead in a motel room in West Virginia. Was it suicide or murder? Glenn Beck excavates never-before-heard testimony from the filmmakers of the Netflix original docuseries “American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders,” including evidence and a paper trail of a stolen election. Christian Hansen and Zachary Treitz detail the most dangerous character they came across. It’s not Bill Hamilton, Inslaw, Robert Booth Nichols, or Michael Riconosciuto. They also explain how the PROMIS software and the Inslaw scandal have ties to the Angry Birds backdoor malware installed by the NSA as well as that outrageous Zapruder film hoax of the JFK assassination. Confused yet? The interconnected web of disinformation consumed Hansen so much that director Treitz was concerned about his emotional and physical health during filming. The ending, reminiscent of "The Sopranos," left the filmmakers on the hunt for the key that could unlock the entire conspiracy. But the story doesn’t end there ...

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What Aleksandr Dugin REALLY Believes About America

Transcript

Did the Deep State Kill a Journalist? An ‘Octopus Murders’ Review | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 219